Until quite recently, administrative law was seen as an enclave of the State. Things have changed, due to European integration. Both the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights have a growing influence on national administrative procedures and rules. The influence of the the European Community is still greater, it limits national procedural autonomy. A further transformation derives from the principles of administrative law developed by the panels of the World Trade Organization (WTO), like the right to be heard and the giving reasons' requirement, which are used to prevent administrative action from descending to arbitrary and unjustified discriminations. The question thus arises as to both the theoretical and practical consequences such a reshaping may have. It is submitted that the new, transnational administrative law needs a proper theoretical foundation, which cannot be that of the State.
European Public Law